Perforating machine



Feb. 13, 1934.

H. T. NICHOLAS PERFORMING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Nov. 18, 1931 Feb. 13, 1934. H. 'r. NICHOLAS PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 18. 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 attorney Feb. 13, 1934.

H. T. NICHOLAS PERFORATING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. l8 1931 E ii mum Not @51 M ,WQ M

dhtoz cw Feb. 13, 1934. H. T. NICHOLAS PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Nov. 18, 1951 4 Sheets-Shzget 4 Patented Feb. 13, 1934 I I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PEBFORATING' MACHINE Herbert T. Nicholas, Sandusky, Ohio, assignor to The Rotary Printing Company, Norwalk, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application November 18, 1931 Serial No. 575,736

13 Claims. (01. 271-25) This invention relates to perforating and punching members 13, while the stationary copunching machines that are particularly adapted acting knives or dies 14 are supported-upon the for use in connection with the manufacture of bed immediately beneath the yokes. manifold forms. Considerable difficulty has been Adjacent the supply end of the machine I have experienced in perforating or punching long conshown a manifold strip 15, which previously has as tinuous manifold forms that are interleaved with been provided with interleaved transfer strips. carbon strips, for the perforating operation must The forms are passed over the guide roller 16, be made after the transfer sheets have been inthence between laterally adjustable guides .17, serted between the folds of the printed forms. atension device l8,aperforati ng unit, and thence This dimculty has resulted from the fact that through a pulling mechanism from whence it 70 the forms have been consecutively numbered and may be discharged into a receptacle 20. A single that any slight variation in the printing or electric motor 21 may be used for operating .the stretching of the paper will bemultiplied many perforating and pulling mechanism, and suittimes in a strip that contains a thousand forms. able gearing is employed for synchronously op- 15 Furthermore, the difliculty hasbeen enhanced by erating upon the forms to hold them stationary 75 reason of the fact that forms of this character during the perforating operation, and then addiifer in length, and this increases the difliculty vance them and present a new set to theperfoof obtaining a proper adjustment for all sizes of rators at the next succeeding stroke thereof. forms. The mechanism for operating the perforator An object of the present invention is to propreferably effects a'contlnuous .vertical reciproatvide a machine, which will operate satisfacto: cation thereof. Such mechanism takes the form. rily and efflciently to perforate or punch manifold of eccentrics 322, which are connected to the forms having interleaved transfer strips, and perforator frames by connecting rods 23. The which may be adjusted while it is in operation eccentrics in turn are shown as being rigidly to compensate for variations in alignment of mounted on shafts 24ateach side of the machine. 85 the forms with reference to the perforating mech- Such shafts are adapted to be rotated continuanism. An additional'object is to provide sufllously through suitable gearing by the motor 21. cient adjustments, which may be termed microm- More particularly such transmission is illuseter adjustments, that will allow an adequate trated as a chain belt 25 which drives a cross range of adjustability to compensate for all varishaft 26 that is suitably journalled within the 90 ations which may occur normally during the bed of'the machine. A.pinion 27 on the cross printing of the forms and subsequent stretching shaft meshes with a gear 28 on-a second cross of the forms as the strip is being handled. shaft 29. which is also journalled in the bed and A machine embodying my invention is illusprojects beyond the sides thereof. This last trated in the drawings wherein Fig. 1 is a side named cross shaft is then suitably connected to 95 elevation of a machine with certain parts shown the eccentric shafts 24 through bevelled gearing in section; Fig.- 2 is a top plan of the machine; 30. It is apparent from the description and from Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the tension device an inspection of'the drawings that the perforaadjacent the supply end of the machine: Fig. 4 tor is reciprocated continuously so long as the is a section taken on the line in Fig. 1; motorisin operation. 0

Fig. 5 is a sectional'view taken on theline 5-5 The puller mechanism embodies a gripper or in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a section taken on the lines puller 35, which is adapted to be reciproeated 6-6 in Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is an enlarged view of .9. along the platen 36 and to grip the paperandpull portion of Fig. 4; Fig. 8 is an enlarged end eleit on the forward stroke, and then to release it is vation of the tension mechanism at the discharge on the return stroke. The puller, which I prefer 05 end of the machine; Fig. 9 is an end viewof the to utilize, embodies a carriage, which is slidably .mechanism .shown in Fig. 8; Fig. 10 is a view as mounted along the top rails 37 of the bed, and indicated by the lines 10-10 in Fig. 1; Fig. 11 which has a bridge portion 38 that straddles the is a view on'the lines 11-11 in Fig. 10; Fig. 12 platen and also the paper which is disposed is a partial view along lines 12-12 in Fig. 10, thereon. The carriage also is shown ashavinga and Fig. 13 is a wiring diagram. rake 40, which is movable vertically at 41 therein, My invention includes a perforating or punchand relatively thereto. The rake has fingers 42 ing device, and a pulling mechanism, which opwhich project upwardly between the bars or rods 'erate conjointly as a single machine. To this 36, which form the platen. Such spaced bars '55 end the bed 10 is shown as having perforating extend in parallel relationship along the top of slides 11 mounted thereon for vertical reciprocathe bed and adjacent the puller end of the mation. In the preferred form, such perforating chine. The relative movement between the rake unit includes yokes 12, which straddle the bed and the carriage head is utilized for gripp n the and are adjustable longitudinally in the slides 11. paper during the pulling operation. '1o this end 1 so The yokes carry the movable perforating or mechanism is provided for lifting the rake until n the fingers force the paper into contact with the bridge 38 during the forward stroke of the car-' riage and thereby cause the paper to move forward in the machine. This mechanism also operates to release the paper at the end of the forward stroke so that the carriage may return for another operation.

Normally the action of gravity holds the rake downwardly and out of contact with the carriage.

. spaced rollers 48, which are journalled therein adjacent the mldportion thereof. In Fig. 4, the full-line position of the rail indicates the gripping position and the broken line A indicates the return stroke position. A suitable timing device 118 is utilized for energizing the solenoids at the start of the forward stroke, and for releasing them at the end of the pulling stroke.

To reciprocate the pulling device, I have shown a driving shaft 50, which carries a crank arm 51, that is adapted to be connected to the carriage through connecting rod 52, lever 53 and link 54. The shaft in turn may be operatively driven by the motor 21, through an idler gear 55, which transmits power from the gear 56 on the shaft 29, to the gear 57 on the shaft 50. The gears 56 and 57 are identical in size and number of teeth so that the shaft 50 rotates synchronously with the shaft 29. Thus, the reciprocation of the carriage is timed to the reciprocation of the perforating unit.

My invention contemplates the provision of means for adjusting the throw of the carriage to maintain accurate alignment of the printed forms with the perforator. printed form has a certain marking thereon such as a transverse line 60 which is adapted to register with a pointer 61 (Fig. 2) which is carried by the bed of the machine and adjacent the top portion thereof. If desired, this pointer may be adjustable within certain longitudinal and transverse limits to accommodate a variety of markings on diflerent forms. The adjustments, which I provide include what may be termed a permanent adjustment, 0. micrometer adjustment and a compensating micrometer adjustment. The main adjustment is set substantially in accordance with the length of the forms being perforated, before the machine is started while the micrometer adjustments may be made by the operator while the machine is in Operation.

The permanent adjustment of the carriage throw is preferably obtained by a pin and slot connection between the crank pin 62 andthe crank arm 51. To this end that portion of the crank arm adjacent the slot guideway may be provided with a scale for enabling the throw to be quickly determined.

The micrometer adjustment is preferably obtained by shifting the pivotal connection 65 between the link 52 and the lever 53 along the lever 53. This may be accomplished by having the end of the connecting rod terminate in forked arms 66 which straddle trunnions 67 that are carried by a pivot block 69. These trunnions may then be supported in slides '70, which are movable in a guideway 71. To shift the pivot block longitudinally of the lever, I have shown To this end, each.

a threaded spindle 68 which extends through the block and is adapted to be rotated while the machine is in operation. Such rotation can be effected by connecting the spindle 68 to a shaft 72 by beveled gears 73. This last named shaft forms the fulcrum for the lever 53 and is adapted to be rotated whenever the hand controlled wheel 75 adjacent one side of the machine is turned. Such last named hand wheel is shown as being mounted on the shaft 76 which in turn is connected through a sprocket chain 77 to a sprocket wheel '78 at the outer end of the shaft 72. A suitable pointer 80 on the bed of the machine is disposed adjacent a scale on the hand wheel 75 for facilitating micrometer adjustments by the operator. The adjustment at the crank arm and at the pivot 65 enables the throw of the carriage to be lengthened or shortened in accordance with the length of the form under consideration.

To compensate in a plus and minus direction for slight variations in the printing, and for stretching in the paper, I provide a compensating micrometer adjustment, which increases or decreases the length of the return stroke of the gripper, but provides for the termination of the forward stroke at the identical point from which the return stroke started. In other words, I provide a mechanism for shortening or lengthening any particular stroke so as to exert a longer or shorter pull upon the paper for one particular reciprocation of the carriage. In this way, the machine need not be stopped if for any reason the micrometer adjustment is not sufllcient to maintain accurate alignment for along continuous strip of forms.

The compensating adjustment preferably takes the form of an eccentric mounting for the lever pivot. To this end, the shaft 72 is mounted eccentric to the trurmions of a journal bracket 85. These trunnions of bracket 85 are mounted in bearing blocks 66 which in turn are fastened onto the bed of the machine. One end of the bracket 85 projects beyond the end of the hearing block and is shown as being provided with a sprocket wheel 8'7, which in turn maybe connected with a sprocket wheel 88 on a shaft 89.

through a sprocket chain 90. The shaft 89 is journaled in the bed of the machine and is adapted to be oscillated by a hand lever 91, which is disposed on the side of the machine adjacent the wheel 75. Thus, whenever the lever 91 is oscillated, the shaft 72 being eccentricto the trlmnions of the journal bracket 85 is swung forwardly or backwardly with reference to the bed of the machine. The net result of this shifting of the fulcrum for the lever 53 is to increase or decrease the length of the return stroke in addition to that provided by micrometer adjustment hereinbefore described. Such adjustment would be of no avail for varying the length of the stroke unless provision were made for stopping the carriage on the forward stroke at thesame point from which it started the return stroke, for otherwise the carriage would merely grip at an advanced point and release at the same advanced point with reference to the setting, which is determined by operation of the wheel 75.

To vary the length of the return stroke of the carriage therefore, and to make the forward stroke terminate at the same point at which the return stroke started, with reference to the bed of the machine, I provide a mechanism, which automatically resets the hand lever 91 to the vertical position, before the carriage reaches the end of the forward stroke. Normally, the position of the lever 91 is vertical, as is shown in Fig. 1, but it is adapted to be moved either to. the right or left approximately 30 degrees. When so moved, it oscillates a depresser 100, which is rigidly mounted on the inner end of theshaft 89, and is shown as having spaced rollers 101 at the lower and outer ends thereof, that normally rest upon cam surfaces 102 on the upper end of a slide 103. This slide in turn is adapted to be 'moved vertically within a stationary guide 104,

which is supported on the bed of the machine, but which provides a journal block 105 for the inner end of the shaft 89. The slide 103 is normally held in the uppermost position by means of a spring 106, one end of which is fastened to the stationary guide 104, and the other end of which is fastened to an arm 107 on the slide. In

the normal position, the slide is out of contact with the cam 110, which is rigidly mounted on the crank shaft 50 and directly beneath the slide.

The upper end of the depresser is shown as having notches'lll on opposite sides of the midportion thereof, while an indexing arm in the form of a spring strip 112 may be carried by the journal block 105 and engage the notches to hold the depresser momentarily in any desired position, but to allow release thereof by the automatic resetting mechanism. In practice, if the lever 91 is swung in either direction, one of the rollers 101 rides along the cam surface 102 and thereby depresses the slide and at the same time shifts the eccentric position of the fulcrum 72. Such movement of the lever 91 is performed while the carriage is moving on a return stroke, at which time the cam 110 will be out of contact with the lower end of the slide. Then, as the cam comes around and engages the slide, it will force it upwardly and thereby return the lever 91 against the force of the operators hand to the initial position; The position of the cam 110 is so directed with reference to the position of the crank arm 51, that the resetting of the lever occurs sometime'during the forward stroke of the carriage. Thus, the operator may shift the lever '91 either forwardly or backwardly any number of times until the lines on the forms are brought into registration with the pointer 61. I have found that satisfactory results can be obtained if the eccentric position of the pivot 72 is arranged to increase ordecrease the length of the carriage stroke one-sixteenth of an inch upon movement of the lever 91 in either direction from the normal position. .If it develops that it is necessary for the operator to actuate the lever 91 an excessive number of times to maintain accurate registration, the wheel may be slightly adjusted to vary the micrometer adjustment in the proper direction. To this end, each mark of the scale on the wheel 75 may be set to vary the throw of the carriage one-hundredth of an inch.

To hold the paper while the carriage is on the return stroke, I have shown a gripping device,

' the paper is gripped by one gripping device, it

is released by the other. The wiring diagram in Fig. 13 illustrates an arrangement whereby the gripper is actuated whenever the solenoid is released and vice versa. To accomplish this, I have shown a suitable timing device, as comprising discs 160 and 161, which are rigidly mounted on the shaft 50. Substantially one-half of the periphery of each disc comprises an electrically conducting surface, while the other half comprises an electrically insulated surface. A brush 162 may then be connected in circuit with the gripper solenoid, while a brush 163 may be connected in circuit with the puller solenoids. The ends of the contactor on one disc are spaced apart from the ends of contactor on the adjacent disc by an amount which is substantially equal to the width of a brush. Thus, one brush closes its circuit at the same time at which the other opens its circuit.

To maintain tension upon the strip wnne it is being pulled forwardly, I have shown a driving roll 120 and acoacting tension roll 121 adjacent the discharge end of the machine and between which the strip is adapted to pass. .The driving roll may be rotated continuously by means of a belt 122 connected to a pulley wheel 123 on the shaft 50.

To facilitate manipulation of the strip through the rolls, I have shown a mechanism for lifting the tension roll 121 out of contact with driving roll. Such mechanism may comprise a shaft 125 whichv extends across the top of the bed, and has cutaway cam portions 126 through which the idle carriage arms 127 extend. The tension roll 121 is journaled in these arms which may be pivoted at 128 in suitable bearing blocks on the bed. To urge the tension roll into contact with the paper, I have shown each arm 127 as having an extension 129, which is acted upon by a spring 130, the tension of which may be adjusted by a thumb screw 131. To lift the arms 127 against the spring 130, I have shown the-theft 125 as having an arm 132, which is rigidly mounted thereon, and which may be grasped and lifted out of engagement with a keeper 133. At such time the cam portion 126 of the shaft 125 is brought into engagement with the underside of the arms 12'? and the tension roll is thereby lifted out of contact with the paper. v

The tension devices at the supply end of the machine preferably comprise a brush 140 which is mounted on a shaft 141 and which is provided with a handle 142 by means of which the angular position of the brush may be controlled. The ends of the shaft are j ournalled in suitable bearing blocks 143 and the tension of the blocks on the shaft may be controlled by thumb nuts 144.

The operation of my machine is as follows:

The manifold strip 15 is passed over the guide .roll 16 between the lateral guides 17 and thence beneath the tension member 18. From there, it is threaded between the perforating devices and thence through the puller 35, the gripper 115, between lateral guides 150, and thence between the rolls 120 and 121, from whence it is discharged into a container 20. Assuming now that the motor is in operation, that the perforator yokes have been adjusted to perforate the forms in the required position, that the throw of the timing crank pin 62 has been adjusted to suit the form, and that the micrometer adjustment has also been made to the approximate position, then, upon operation of a clutch (not shown) the motor is operatively connected to the mechanism. Thereupon, the perforator is reciprocated while the pulling mechanism is actuated synchronously to hold the paper stationary during the perforating operation andto advance it between the perforating operations. While the paper is stationary, it is held against movement by frictional contact of the brush 140 at one end of the machine, and by the gripper 115 adjacent the other end of the machine. At the completion of the perforating operation, the puller will have reached the end of the return stroke, whereupon the rail solenoids 46 and 47 will be energized through the timer 118 while the solenoid 119, which controls the gripper 115 will be de-energized. At such time the paper is free to be pulled forwardly. Such action occurs upon the forward movement of the puller, at which time the slack in the strip forwardly of the puller is taken up by the driving roll 120.

The machine may be controlled by a single operator who is' in a position to observe the registration of the lines 60 with reference to the pointer 61. If the line is out of registration in either position, the operator throws the lever 91 into the desired direction, whereupon as hereinbefore explained, the length of the stroke of the carriage is varied by virtue of the shifting of the eccentric mounting of the pivot 72. The lever is automatically reset before the end of the forward stroke so that if the adiustment is not sufficient, the operator may repeat the movement until the desired registration is effected.

By means of my invention, I have been able to I successfully perforate long continuous strips of consecutively numbered manifold forms at about eighty forms per minute, and withno objectionable noise or vibration. Furthermore, the adjustments, which I have provided for correcting the registration of the forms with reference to the perforator enables an unskilled operator to maintain accurate registration in an expeditious manner.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of material pulling mechanism,

means for manually adjusting the length of the stroke of the pulling mechanism, and other means for automatically resetting the adjusting means before the completion of the pulling stroke.

2. A material pulling mechanism comprising a gripper adapted to be reciprocated along the bedof a machine, manually operable means for varying the position. at which the material is gripped during anyone reciprocation with reference to the bed of the machine, and other means for automatically resetting the adjusting means whereby the material is released at the starting point of the reciprocation.

3. A paper pulling machine, comprising in combination, a reciprocating gripper, means includingwa lever for reciprocating the gripper, and means for shifting the fulcrum of the lever, whereby the length of the stroke of the gripper may be selectively varied.

4. A perforating machine comprising in combination, a gripping device, mechanism for recipr0cating saiddevice, said mechanism including two pivotally connected links, and means for shifting the point of connection between the links with reference to one of the links during the operation of the machine, and other means for shifting the fulcrum of one of the links, whereby the length of the stroke of the gripping device may be selectively varied.

5. A gripping device comprising in combination, a frame, a slotted platen, a carriage movable along the platen, means mounted-on the carriage and extendingthroughtheslotsandcoactingwiththe carriage for gripping a strip of paper therein, and electro-magnetic means for moving the means.

6. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a reciprocating gripper, of an electric motor, means operatively connecting the motor to the gripper, said means including a lever, and mechanism including an eccentric adjacent the fulcrum of the lever for adjusting the throw of the lever while it is in motion so as to vary the stroke of the gripper.

7. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a reciprocating paper gripping carriage, of means for reciprocating the carriage, means for varying the length of the carriage stroke while it is moving in one direction and other means for automatically resetting it before it reaches the limit of movement on the succeeding stroke in the opposite direction.

8. In a machine of the characted described, the combination with a reciprocating gripper, of means for reciprocating it, said means including a lever pivotally mounted adjacent one end thereof, and a driving member connected to the lever intermediate the ends thereof, means for shifting the pivot of the lever to vary the throw of the gripper, and additional means for shifting the position of the connection between the member and the lever for also varying the throw of the gripper.

9. A paper gripping device, comprising in combination, a frame, a gripper mounted for reciprocation on the frame, a lever connected to the gripper and having a fulcrum on the frame, a crank arm, means for operatively connecting the arm to the lever at a point spaced from the fulcrum, mechanism for rotating the crank arm, mechanism for shifting the connection between said means and said lever, and other independent- 1y operable means for shifting the fulcrum of the lever with reference to the frame.

10. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a gripper, of a lever operatively connected therewith, means for oscillating the lever, said lever having the fulcrum thereof mounted on an eccentric, and means for shifting the eccentric so as to vary the throw of the lever.

11. In a machine of the character described, a reciprocating gripper, a lever operatively connected therewith, an arm connected to the lever on one side of its fulcrum for actuating it, means for moving the arm, a screw and nut couple connecting the arm to the lever, and means for actuating the couple to shift the point of connection of the arm with reference to the lever, said last named means including a shaft extending through the fulcrum and gearing interconnecting the shaft and the screw.

12. In a machine of the character described, the combination with a puller, of an oscillating lever for reciprocating the puller, said lever having an ecceniric fulcrum, means for operating the eccentric to shift the position of the fulcrum 'during the movement of the arm in one direction, and other means acting against the first named means for resetting the position of the fulcrum before the arm reaches the limit of the return movement.

13. In a machine of the character described,

the combination with a reciprocating puller, of a gripper and electro-magnetic means for actuating the gripper and the puller, said means being operative to release the puller, simultaneously upon actuation of the gripper.

HERBERT. T. NICHOLAS. 

